The environmental Kuznets curve for US counties: A spatial econometric analysis with extensions

We examine the relationship between county per capita income and toxic pollutants using a comprehensive model of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. The model incorporates ethnic diversity, spatial effects and most independent variables used in previous studies. Initial results suggest that the relationship follows an inverted-U-shape. However, incorporation of a cubic term for income reveals that toxic pollution eventually increases again as income continues to rise. Ethnic diversity and spatial effects are found to be important in understanding toxic pollution in US counties. We also detect an EKC-type relationship with respect to income inequality.Received: 25 January 2002, Accepted: 8 March 2003, JEL Classification: R11, Q20The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the US Department of Agriculture under NRI Grant No. 00-5401-9320, as well as the comments of three anonymous reviewers. An earlier version of this article was presented at the North American Regional Science Association meetings in Charleston, SC in November 2001.     

显内涵、拓功能、促和谐:宗教文化旅游的发展与更新——以天童-五龙潭风景名胜区天童景区中心区域修建性详细规划为例

我国独特的宗教发展历程,造就了宗教文化场所与风景资源的完美融合,留下了许多文化与风景互为一体的游览胜地。然而,现代旅游意义下宗教文化游览胜地的保护与利用尚处初级阶段,效率低下、模式粗放,与社会需求相去甚远。和谐社会宗教文化旅游如何发展便具有重要的社会价值和意义,基于这种认识,结合天童五龙潭风景名胜区天童景区中心区域修建性详细规划实践,论文探讨一种契合时代需求的宗教与旅游和谐发展的新方法。这种方法主要以挖掘宗教文化内涵、彰显宗教文化魅力为基础,基于时代需求拓展宗教人间化的旅游新功能,以旅游带动宗教,促进宗教与旅游的和谐发展。     

The International FORUM of Fire Research Directors: A position paper on performance-based design for fire code applications

The International FORUM of Fire Research Directors (FORUM) periodically takes a position on a technical issue of international significance confronting the fire safety research community. The position of the FORUM on performance-based regulations, codes and design for fire safety applications, and the rationale leading to it, is described in this paper. Aspects addressed include current capabilities and challenges associated with the application of performance-based design, and possible enhancements (obtained through a coordinated and sustained global effort of research) in next generation tools leading to more certain predictions of the effects on performance of changes in building materials, active and passive fire protection systems, compartmentation, and egress systems; the structural response of a building to large fires including those leading to full building burnout; the impact of fire on neighboring buildings and infrastructure; and the uncertainty in deterministic predictions for incorporation into reliable probabilistic calculations of hazard and risk.